Yellow Dog Records carries the living lore of authentic American music into the present. Featuring new interpretations of Blues, Jazz, Soul, and Americana styles by established and emerging artists, Yellow Dog Records is where innovation confronts tradition. What's left after the collision? Inspired explorations of America's musical roots.

The main thing at the top of The Claudettes’ minds right now: Doris the Van. She’s only got 178,000 miles on her, but she’s a ’99, and not as young as she used to be. Still, they’ve got the blessing of their Chicago mechanic and they’ve got the dates to put Doris to the test, starting with a few Midwest venues and festivals including the Wicker Park Fest in Chicago, Atwood Fest in Madison, WI and the posh Vieux Carre in St. Paul, MN before heading out on an extensive West Coast tour.

In typical Claudettes-ian fashion, they’re hitting blues clubs and festivals (Catfish Lou’s in Portland, the Calgary International Blues Festival, the Big Sky Rhythm & Blues Festival in Montana and, once back in the Midwest, Ribberfest in Madison, IN) as well as esteemed rock clubs (Viper Room in West Hollywood, El Corazon/Funhouse in Seattle, Lost Lake in Denver, Amnesia in San Francisco and Beauty Bar in Las Vegas). Then: it’s back to the East Coast in the fall…

Along with songs from their forthcoming album produced by Mark Neill (Black Keys, Old 97’s, Paladins, Los Straitjackets), The Claudettes will be playing new songs as well as a bevy of beauties from their first three releases on Yellow Dog Records. All The Claudettes tour dates (more to come) can be found right HERE . Tell your friends in those towns, and if you can make a show, don’t miss it — you’ll see why crowds at the aforementioned rock clubs and blues fests alike highly dig the vibes of the Claudettes live!

If you’ve been following The Claudettes‘ recent video series, you’ve no doubt been as enamoured with the delicious sounds of their stripped-down piano-room session as we are. We’re pleased to make this set available today for music collections everywhere in the form of an online-exclusive EP.

Recorded in compellingly stark fashion with just two mics and played at conversational volume with no amps, these performances let the beautiful voices of Berit Ulseth and Zach Verdoorn shine. They also properly introduce the four-piece Claudettes who have been touring for almost a year.

Pull Closer to Me: Live in the Piano Room is the sound of a band who love to get loud, but who arguably have their greatest impact when they break it way, way down. Turn the lights down and prepare to be beguiled as The Claudettes’ new lineup shows off its acoustic side.

The band previously won IMAs for their first Yellow Dog Records album, Infernal Piano Plot…HATCHED! and for Best Long Form Video (Live in the Studio). Now, they’re up for Best Instrumental (Mainly) Album (No Hotel) and Best Instrumental Song (“Big Easy Women”). Did we mention this the 9th year in a row that a Yellow Dog Records artist has been nominated for an IMA?

Winners will be announced at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City on November 12th. The Claudettes long ago broke free of Claudette’s Bar and are off and running on tour. Go see this one-of-a-kind piano-pounding Chicago group at a show near you so you can see them attempt these daredevil instrumentals live and wish ’em good luck at the IMAs!

<a href=”http://theclaudettes.bandcamp.com/album/no-hotel”>NO HOTEL by The Claudettes</a>

Do you know Putumayo? You really should, and probably do. They’re a record label that rejoices over the many rivers of music that stream across the globe (you’ve likely seen their eye-catching CDs in a coffee shop or three). In addition to introducing recordings and artists from all over the world, Putumayo has donated more than a million dollars to help the worldwide communities from which that music arises.

In the middle of NO HOTEL, The Claudettes’ new album full of playfully raucous songs and instrumentals, comes a song born of personal tragedy but bathed in beauty and light. “She’s So Imaginary” is a vibrant throwback to the sound of ’60s pop-soul. But the inspiration for the song lies in personal tragedies endured by members of The Claudettes, and is set in the aftermath of the heart-rending 2014 Korean ferry disaster.

The new video, which premieres today on Innocent Words, stars Claudettes singer Yana and seven-year-old Roman F. Berkowitz VI, whose evocative misuse of the English language gave the song its title.

For the entire story behind “She’s So Imaginary” and the making of the new video, read the full press release.

Congratulations to the Ragpicker String Band for their nomination in this year’s Blues Music Awards! The band has earned a nomination for Acoustic Album of the year. This nomination was given for the debut album by the group, though the combined members of this “acoustic music dream team” (Rich DelGrosso, Mary Flower and Martin Grosswendt) have previously earned a whopping nine BMA nominations.

The Blues Music Awards (formerly known as the W.C. Handy Awards) are universally recognized as the highest honor given to Blues artists. And best of all, you can vote in the awards process! Visit The Blues Foundation to join, and then this link to vote once you are a member. Voting is open now through March 1.

The Blues Foundation will present the 37th Blues Music Awards on May 5th at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, TN. Stay tuned!

The program airs on NPR stations nationwide in a timeslot scheduled by each local station. Check here to see when the show airs in your town this week! It’s also easy to listen online, or check out the archives if you miss the original broadcast.

The first single from The Claudettes‘ NO HOTEL, “Chez Les Yé-yé”, takes the Serge Gainsbourg classic back to its American Blues roots — think blues with a beret instead of a fedora. But behind Yana’s sultry vocals and Michael Caskey’s furious drumming (and deliberately asinine dancing), there is a disconsolate message — just as, behind the “tom toms” and “yeah yeahs” of Serge’s “Chez Les Yé-yé”, there lurks something sinister.

We’re humbled to learn that we’ve been nominated for a 2016 Keeping the Blues Alive award. This is The Blues Foundation‘s highest honor for “individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to blues music”.

Although the award is supposedly for the record label, we know that it’s really a recognition of the the incredible talents of the musicians who we’ve been privileged to work with. We’re thrilled to accept this award on their behalf and look forward every day to more great music to come.